Beat the drought, save your lawn-watersmart
Statewide water education-campaign kicks off ...

Beat the Drought, Save Your Lawn, waterSmart is the Georgia Department of Natural Resources' mantra as its new campaign launches today, helping Georgians learn how to preserve their lawns while conserving water as the state remains in a declared Drought Level One.

"We have two priorities with our waterSmart message," said Alice Miller Keyes,

water conservation policy advisor to the Director of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. "The first priority of course is to conserve water and the second is to help Georgians learn how to maintain beautiful, healthy lawns using less water. It's important that people realize they don't have to sacrifice their landscapes during times of drought."

According to Keyes, healthy landscapes are important for a variety of purposes, both environmental and economic. Healthy landscapes prevent run-off, provide shade and habitat for wildlife - as

well as increase the aesthetics and property values of a community.

However, the majority of household water in Georgia is used during the summer months for outdoor landscape

purposes, which can put a strain on local water supplies. And what most homeowners don't realize is that overwatering can be just as damaging to a lawn as a lack of water.